TWELFTH ANNUAL "One Blade in February" Challenge - 2021 Edition

[Messygoon]

Shave #15, Saturday, February 27, 2021

Preshave: none
Soap: Proraso green
Brush: Zenith boar
Razor: Rockwell 6S, plate 3
Blade: Astra SS
Aftershave: Nivea Cooling
Notes: A little neck stubble, no tugging. Not surprising, given there was zero preshave attention.

 

[Invicta]

Gillette Nacet #28; good performance from this blade during the month.

 

[fekoljabut]

Gillette Wilkinson Sword India (28)

Surprisingly good blade. For the first 15-18 shaves it's sharp and smooth....after that it starts degrading.
28 shaves is really too much for this blade, it still cuts (way less than in the begining) but it's too rough.

Really good and cheap blade

Sent from my Y7 using Tapatalk

 

[hopper_64]

Schick Super Stainless #28

Last shave in February

Gillette Aristocrat
Schick Super Stainless
Yaqi Moka Express 2-band Badger 26mm
TOBS Sandalwood creme & aftershave

Really good blade, started to tug a little around shave 20 or 21 but got smoother again.
Think I could've got a few more shaves out of it, but I will enter FFFMM tomorrow with a fresh Polsilver instead.

 

[c__port]

LOI Titanium (35) in a Muhle R89.

A very good shaving month; no cuts or weepers, 2-pass with touchup every day, ATG above the lip every day.

Thanks, @GermanShaver! for keeping OBIF alive.

 

[T.Orso]

Bic #58

Still serving up smooth shaves.

Anyone else continuing into March with their blade? I am going to see how far this one goes. It’s looking good to get to the next milestone of 73 shaves (5 blades per year).

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

My One Blade in February journey ended yesterday when I shaved with the Gillette 7 O'clock Black (7) shaves and then decided to shift to shavette razor for today's shave.

I'm far too new in this hobby to adequately give my shave gears proper workout, and adventures like this, helped me in finding out more about my blades.

I got a total of 21 shaves from 2 blades, and this was next to impossible for me till last month.

Thank you for your response and support, I have progressed a bit more and I look forward to many such adventures.

Wishing you all great shaves.

 

[bjm]

Razor: Gillette Goodwill #160
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (29)
Brush: Zenith 205 boar (aka B17)
Cream: Cella

I just completed my 29th shave (and the last shave of February) with the same blade. The shave was still smooth and effortless. I only recall one rough day, but I don't believe the blade was at fault; I got a bit lazy with building the lather and the resulting shave was less than spectacular. I learned my lesson and moved on.

I plan to keep using the same blade into the month of March until it starts to fail since I'm now very curious to see just how many shaves I can get with it before it should be replaced. This blade has seen a Muhle R41 and three Timeless razors this past month and survived them all. I think the smooth and efficient Goodwill #160 is just the right razor to pair with it in its final (?) days.

Thank you @GermanShaver! for keeping this thread going and to all the participants for keeping it interesting. I now realize my blade supply should last a lot longer than expected since I can safely reconsider switching out each blade after only one week of use. Be well and stay safe...

-- Benjamin

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

Bic #58

Still serving up smooth shaves.

Anyone else continuing into March with their blade? I am going to see how far this one goes. It’s looking good to get to the next milestone of 73 shaves (5 blades per year).

View attachment 1229710

I will be moving into Fixed Four For March with the Feather blade that I’ve used all month in February. It currently has 21 shaves on it. I figure I’ll have another 20-25 on it by month end.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

Gillette Fatboy, set to 5
Gillette Nacet Stainless (28)
Art of Shaving badger
Cella crema da barba, face lathered
Mennen Afta, Fresh

Well, that was an interesting month. Though I've only used a Nacet a couple times before, I wasn't really surprised that it would make it all the way through February, not with all the praise it gets on B&B.

Great participation this year. Hope everyone took something from it...new insight on blades, their prep, their technique. My takeaway was the longer you use a particular razor, the better you get at extracting the best performance from it.

I am thinking about a fixed four in March, but am having trouble deciding on the four. I have a day to think about it.

 

[Mike M]

Shave#28

Final shave of the month with the BIC Chrome Platinum blade. I was a bit sceptical I could shave for an entire month with one blade, however I have made it. Tonight I went with the Parker 26C again. The cream was Proraso Wood and Spice lathered with the Semogue 1308 boar, great strong scent with a good lather. I am not going to bin the blade because I still.beleive that after 28 3 pass shaves there is still life in it.
It has been a good experiment and I am glad I made it but I am looking forward to using a new blade tomorrow

 

[JAHE]

Congrats to everyone who finished the month successfully!

Thanks @GermanShaver! for hosting the challenge!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Yesterday's shave completed the month with the second of the two Wizamet SI blades installed during the month of February. Happy shaves, Jim

 

[Cal]

OBIF SOTD #28

Brush: Shavemac Olive Wood 20/44 Silvertip 2-Band
Soap: Rasozero Agrumella
Razor: 2020 Gillette Tech on custom olive wood handle
Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (28)
ASL: Rasozero Agrumella with added menthol

A superb shave! The planets certainly aligned today. What a team!

A BIG THANK YOU to @GermanShaver! for keeping the "One Blade in February" challenge going this year. I'm always looking to improve my technique and OBIF has always been a great help to me.

It's also fun to join such a mixed bunch of shavers here each year. Thank you all y'all.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Aziraphale]

Yay ! ! !
I made it! I made it!
The lasts few shaves have been a bit rough. Not too bad though if I really apply myself and take my time. The last few shaves have been more CCS rather than the DFS that I was working towards but that was because I was needing more and more time for extra passes, buffing, cleanup, etc... I ended up with more of a 'close enough for government work' shave than anything I'm really happy with.

The exact same lineup all month with no changes. Kinda boring if you ask me. The benefit, however is that I have really honed my technique with the Sabre. I really, really look forward to putting in a new sharpie, sharp for tomorrow. (I think my wife looks forward to it too )

 

[Messygoon]

The 1-blade February challenge was a blast. I got 15 amazing shaves from a single Astra Superior Stainless blade, and will continue its use into March. Here’s what I discovered:

• Metal: This Astra SS matches perfectly with my Rockwell 6S stainless razor... maybe it’s the commonality in metal that worked so well?
• Style: As the blade dulled, I maintained great shaves with more pressure, perfect for the mild Rockwell, but deadly with a more aggressive razor.
• Dialing It In: Shave #1 was BBS. The next several nearly as good, but diminished. Then, on about shave #5, I noticed it began to improve. The Astra SS “dialed in,” giving smoother and closer shaves. I’ve experienced this before, but because I switch blades after 3 shaves (blades are cheap, and life too short not to enjoy the shave), it took this challenge to experience this effect again.
• Oops: Be careful how you abbreviate Astra Superior Stainless.
• Blade Care: Longevity was likely aided by blade care... I carefully patted the blade dry then blew out moisture after each use, never removing the blade from the razor.
• Constant: By using the same razor and blade for a month, I came to better understand differences between Tabac, Proraso green and Cella... each highly recommended.

There are a few posts questioning the quality of new-stock Astra SS blades (i.e., thinner, fakes, etc.). Mine came in a sampler pack; a 5-blade Russian tuck with black ink on the blade. I have been hesitant to buy more, but a little research revealed problem blades are likely knockoffs, and the Gillette production that continues in St. Petersburg is of high quality. So, this evening, I just purchased 100 Astra SS Russian blades on Amazon for $7.69. At February’s rate of use, they should last 8 years.

 

[Saxonbowman]

Day/shave 28 with the Voskhod
1906 Single Ring Old Type

Annnd.. done!

This was my sixth OBIF and I wanted a challenge. I sure got one! Rather than using one of my tried and true blades I picked the Voskhod. I did one shave in January to make sure the blade was still good. Once I got to February the edge started to fall apart. After a week or so it didn’t get any worse and a few times it was moderately comfortable. I tried every technique trick I know but not much helped. The Old Type probably gave the closest shaves but they weren’t comfortable.

Looking forward to a new, sharp blade!

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I thought I would get another shave in today, but the grandkids stayed overnight and my priorities were elsewhere.

So 21 shaves on a Feather was all I could muster for February. Tomorrow the Fixed Four For March begins. I see no need to change my setup from February, or the blade. Shave 22 on the Feather coming up in the morning.

Since this was my usual setup all month, I really didn’t expect to learn anything. But I believe I did learn that as light as my touch was, I was able to decrease the pressure even more. At times I felt like the only thing touching my face was the blade.

 

[wmadoty]

I finished this challenge and had a wonderful time doing it. My last five shaves have been less than stellar, but not unpleasant. Looking forward to FFFM with a new blade tomorrow.

 

[Leverspro]

I came late to the party, but got about three weeks out of this Permasharp. I'll try again next year.